One Sky
by Electric Monster
Summary: She had been waiting for so long, and they were finally home. He was home. They were together again. RikuXOC.


_**one sky, one destiny**_

_**If I owned Kingdom Hearts, do you think I'd be sitting here writing this right now?**_

_A/N: Just gonna warn you guys now, I've used an OC in this. (There's not really any character exploration seeing as it's not really **that** long, but still.) It's a little cheesy, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Have fun reading and I hope you enjoy it! I'd love to hear your thoughts about it so please leave a review before you go! Thanks! X_

* * *

Endless blue ocean. Incandescent orange sky. A golden sun that was just beginning to slip below the horizon. Sea-salt ice cream dripped on to her hand, the cool liquid contrasting the day's heat. Beside her, a small fruit, yellow and star-shaped. To anyone else this fruit would seem irrelevant, but to her it was everything that she had left of him. She regretted not sharing it with him when he had asked her to.

_How many years has it been?_ A thought than ran through her head almost every day. She never did quite figure out the answer. She had only been vaguely aware of the passing time that she felt completely separate from. Everything moved slower in their absence.

Eyes the colour of a thundering sky watched the motionless fruit silently, ignoring the ice cream melting in her hands as if it wasn't even there. The tall tales Kairi had relented to her seemed almost impossible to believe, but there was sincerity there that made them even more impossible to call false. Besides, what reason did her best friend have to lie to her?

The red-head beside her smiled at her, sure of her next words.

"Don't worry, Reiko, he'll be back soon. They both will."

Ebony and red hair frayed out in the sudden breeze and Kairi's smile grew.

Reiko nodded, not sure of how true her friend's words might be.

"Yeah..." She muttered. "You're probably right."

Kairi's smile faltered a little and she placed a gentle, comforting hand on top of her friend's.

"He wouldn't dream of leaving you here," she stated. "Not a chance."

Rather than replying, Reiko simply opted to look back up at the skies. The beautiful sky that was so familiar and safe, a sky that safe-guarded Destiny Islands from inherent evil. Those skies held a mystery that the others had experienced, a story that she would only ever hear be told, not something for her to ever live out herself.

She furrowed her brows in confusion at the perfect skies. Two unusual falling lights were plummeting at an alarming speed towards the ocean. They looked like shooting stars, but no shooting star had ever actually _fallen_ into the ocean before...

"Hey, look at that," she nudged Kairi, tossing her ice cream to one side and pointing at the lights. "Do you think that's them?" Her voice steadily grew more excited.

Kairi nodded and jumped to her feet. "It has to be!"

* * *

Falling. That was all they felt. Faster and faster, unable to stop. The vast blue came into view, it seemed solid and painful as they flew towards it at an alarming speed. Arms over their heads, they braced themselves as the blue-orange skies vanished to be replaced by a wet sapphire sliding over their skin.

They were plunged deep into the ocean, which was to be expected with the rate at which they were falling, and swam back to the surface. One brunette boy became momentarily confused, up and down merged into one and he flailed aimlessly, running out of air. A strong hand pulled him the right way up, his silver haired companion smiled as his friend raced to the surface and greedily took in a deep breath of air, throwing his head backwards. He followed suit, shaking out his hair and adjusting his sight.

The boys shared a smile, happy to be home at long last.

"Sora! Riku!"

Kairi's familiar voice called to them, beckoning them, but as he turned to towards the beach it was not the red-head that he first noticed. The small girl sitting beside her was different, older than her remembered. She had blossomed while he had been away.

Her hair was not the short bob cut that he remembered, but flowing black locks that floated in the gently breeze. Her features had changed, they had become sharper and more defined. He was more beautiful than he had ever thought she could be. Grey eyes, captivating and warm despite their rainy colour watched him, studied him. The adorable little girl in the mint tank top and black skirt was gone, and was replaced by the stunning young woman in a white summer dress sitting in the sand, shock and wonder and happiness written all over her face.

Sora turned to him and they nodded once to each other.

He was eager to get to her, to close the gap, to remove the water that kept her from him.

Without a thought, he started swimming, only one goal in mind.

* * *

Kairi was waving at them. Reiko simply stared in bewilderment. They were back. She could hardly process what she was seeing. Her boys, her _friends_ were finally home! Ecstasy filled her body and yet she couldn't move. Frozen on the spot as she watched him swimming towards her, towards them, and towards their home.

He was different. She could still see that confidence in him, thought it was less than it used to be. His hair was longer, trailing down his back now and his eyes seemed brighter. Though, that could have been a trick of the light she doubted it was. Defined muscles that she had never noticed before now dominated his physique. Yes, he was different, but he was still the same boy she remembered. The boy she never had, and never will, forget.

Then they both stopped in the ocean, Sora and Riku froze as their infamous trio came running out from the shack nearby.

Donald and Goofy dived onto Sora, pushing him down into the waves and laughing as they went, hugging and reuniting. Kairi and Reiko shared an amused look before grey eyes shifted back to the silver-haired boy holding Mickey in his arms.

A grin broke out on to her face as Mickey jumped back into the water and their eyes connected for the first time in years.

Reiko rose from her seat in the sand and broke into a run, ignoring the protesting waves around the hem of her summer dress.

Kairi smiled as she watched her friend run towards the boy she was destined to be with, their lives intertwined forever; without the help of the paupau fruit.

Sora was perplexed as something splashed by him, not catching what it was. Mickey appeared beside him, smiling knowingly and nodding in approval at the scene behind the keyblade master's head. Sora turned, and a soft smile graced his features. Yeah, this was right. They were definitely home.

* * *

Riku caught her easily.

Her arms slipped around his neck and he spun around in the ocean, her legs flying out as he went. Strong arms held her tightly to his body as she clung to him, a defiance to let go preseant without either of them uttering a single word. All those feelings, the memories and the longing was in that one embrace, and that was all they needed for now.

Holding her in his arms felt right, it felt normal.

She smelled of vanilla and sea-salt, a sweet combination that he had missed; a familiar smell that he remembered from his childhood.

Reiko smiled into his shoulder. She felt safe; she felt like this was where she belonged.

She lifted her face and brought her lips to his ear, murmuring three single words that she had longed to say for the years he had been away: "Welcome home, Riku."

Riku laughed, a musical laugh and hugged her tighter before holding her away at arms length and grinning like he had never grinned before. She had never seen him so happy, so carefree.

Then without a single word, he kissed her and she didn't protest.

This was right.

No, it was _perfect_.


End file.
